U.S. patent number 4,244,623 [Application Number 06/037,209] was granted by the patent office on 1981-01-13 for multi-position armrest.
This patent grant is currently assigned to UOP Inc.. Invention is credited to Neal C. Eriksson, Garth O. Hall, Harvey N. Tengler.
United States Patent |
4,244,623 |
Hall , et al. |
January 13, 1981 |
Multi-position armrest
Abstract
Multi-position armrest for a vehicle seat incorporates a
parallelogram linkage which permits the armrest to be raised or
lowered through a series of parallel positions and locked in any
one against downward movement. A ratchet and pawl arrangement
permits the armrest to be tilted while in various fixed positions
of the linkage, or, simultaneously as the linkage is moved.
Movements of the arm or linkage in a lowering direction are
controlled by a pair of manually operated buttons which operate
separate, spaced apart pawls which engage different teeth on a
single ratchet member. The buttons are not required for upward
movement. The armrest can function as such or can be lowered to be
flush with the seat so as to extend the seat width. It can also be
tilted downwardly to a hip supporting position or upwardly to a
vertical storage position. Various cam and stop arrangements
restrict movements of the armrest outside a preferred range.
Inventors: |
Hall; Garth O. (New Berlin,
WI), Tengler; Harvey N. (New Berlin, WI), Eriksson; Neal
C. (Franklin, WI) |
Assignee: |
UOP Inc. (Des Plaines,
IL)
|
Family
ID: |
21893057 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/037,209 |
Filed: |
May 8, 1979 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
297/411.36;
297/115; 297/162 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C
1/03 (20130101); B60N 2/753 (20180201); B60N
2/77 (20180201); B60N 2/763 (20180201) |
Current International
Class: |
A47C
1/022 (20060101); A47C 1/03 (20060101); B60N
2/46 (20060101); A47C 007/54 () |
Field of
Search: |
;297/115,411,417,116,117,330,412,162 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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|
|
|
|
|
|
562067 |
|
May 1957 |
|
IT |
|
2334612 |
|
Jan 1975 |
|
DE |
|
Primary Examiner: McCall; James T.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hoatson, Jr.; James R. Clark; Barry
L. Page, II; William H.
Claims
We claim as our invention:
1. A multi-position armrest assembly for at least one side of a
vehicle seat comprising a seat frame, an armrest, and armrest
mounting linkage means supported by said seat frame for moving said
armrest and locking it against downward movement relative to said
seat frame in a plurality of positions including at least: a first
seat width extending position where its top surface is coplanar
with and immediately adjacent to a seat bottom cushion mounted on
said seat frame; a second armrest position where it is positioned
above and generally parallel to said first position; a third hip
support position where its rearward end is raised above the level
of the seat bottom cushion and above its forward end; and a fourth
storage position where it is arranged generlly vertically adjacent
a seatback cushion mounted on said seat frame.
2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said linkage comprises a
parallelogram which includes a pair of parallel links which are
mounted at one of their ends to said seat frame and which have a
connecting link pivotally joined to their other ends, said armrest
being mounted for pivotal movement about a single point on one of
said links and said parallel links each being mounted for pivotal
movement on said seat frame.
3. The assembly of claim 2 wherein said single point is the axis on
which said connecting link is pivotally joined to one of said pair
of parallel links.
4. The assembly of claim 3 wherein said one of said pair of
parallel links is mounted to said seat frame at a location which is
higher and closer to the rear of the seat than the other of said
pair of links.
5. The assembly of claim 4 wherein said connecting link has an
enlarged, peripherally toothed portion at the end thereof which is
pivoted to said one of said parallel links.
6. The assembly of claim 5 wherein a first pawl member is mounted
on one of said links which have their common axis at said single
point, said first pawl member being normally biased into engagement
with a selected one of a first plurality of ratchet teeth on said
toothed portion for selectively locking said parallelogram linkage
in a selected vertical position, and a first manually operated
means mounted on said armrest for releasing said first pawl from
said engagement so that said parallelogram linkage may be moved to
a position where another of said first plurality of ratchet teeth
can be engaged by said first pawl.
7. The assembly of claim 2 wherein said one of said links having
said single point includes an enlarged, peripherally toothed
portion surrounding said single point and said armrest has a frame
on which a pawl member is pivotally mounted for engagement with a
selected one of a plurality of ratchet teeth on said toothed
portion for locking said armrest in a selected position of angular
rotation about said single point.
8. The assembly of claim 7 wherein said pawl member is resiliently
biased into contact with said toothed portion, said pawl member
being movable out of contact with said toothed portion by a
manually operated means mounted on said armrest.
9. The assembly of claim 6 wherein said armrest has a frame on
which a second pawl member is pivotally mounted for engagement with
a selected one of a second plurality of ratchet teeth which are
circumferentially spaced from said first plurality of ratchet
teeth, said second pawl member being movable out of contact with
said ratchet teeth by a second manually operated means mounted on
said armrest.
10. The assembly of claim 9 wherein said first and second manually
operated means comprise levers which are pivoted to the frame of
the armrest and include manually depressible buttons.
11. The assembly of claim 9 wherein said pawls are each resiliently
urged into contact with a selected ratchet tooth for locking said
armrest against downward movement while being free to ratchet over
said ratchet teeth to permit upward movement.
12. The assembly of claim 10 wherein the lever which operates said
first pawl member includes a cam portion which engages a cam
follower portion attached to said first pawl member, said first
pawl member only being releasable by said lever when said cam
follower portion contacts said cam portion and said cam portion
having a limited extent which limits the number of ratchet teeth
which said first pawl may engage to a number corresponding to a
desired range of vertical movement of said parallelogram
linkage.
13. The assembly of claim 11 wherein one of the links in said
parallelogram linkage has a portion thereon which is adapted to
engage a projection on the frame of the armrest to cause the
armrest to be automatically pivoted to a generally horizontal
position if the armrest is in a downwardly tilted position when the
parallelogram linkage is lowered to its lowest position.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to armrests for vehicle seats and
particularly to an armrest which can be moved to varying positions
of adjustment, including one wherein it constitutes an extension of
the seat bottom. Meiller U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,088 is one example of
such an armrest. Another example is a tractor seat recently sold by
John Deere Company which has an armrest pivotably attached at two
points to two links carried by the seat frame so as to permit
movement of the armrest to several generally parallel
positions.
An armrest is a comfort feature that appeals to many purchasers of
vehicle seats. To facilitate access to the seat during entry and
exit of the occupant, the typical armrest is usually pivoted to the
side of the seat back so it can be moved about a fixed axis between
a vertical storage position and a generally horizontal use
position. The use position can sometimes be pivotally adjusted
slightly relative to horizontal by adjustable stop members to suit
occupant preferences or to help accommodate occupant height
differences. Certain vehicles, such as farm implements, are
typically operated by one person but are sometimes used to
transport a helper to the site of the day's work. The seat widening
arms discussed above permit more than one person to occupy the seat
in such a transport situation and then the arms can be raised to
their use position to provide comfort to the operator. In the case
of the aforementioned tractor seat, the armrest cannot be retracted
to a vertical non-use position and thus, the seat occupant must
either maneuver around the rather large armrest to enter or exit
the vehicle or must slide himself over the additional width of the
armrest, a rather awkward procedure. In some situations, the
occupant does not wish to be hindered by armrests when he must be
frequently turning to check operations going on behind him but
would appreciate the side restraint provided by the hip support
type seats often used in off-the-road equipment. Such equipment is
often steered by levers located below the sides of the seats and
the seats have short angled armrest portions on the top of the
fixed hip supports.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is among the objects of the present invention to provide an
armrest for a vehicle seat which can provide not only a composite
of all the adjustment positions previously achieved by a number of
individual prior art constructions, but a substantially greater
number of positions.
The foregoing objects are attained by the armrest structure of the
present invention which, in its preferred embodiment, incorporates
a parallelogram linkage which includes two parallel links pivoted
to the seat frame. The linkage permits the armrest to move through
a wide range of parallel positions so that occupants of varying
height can select the exact armrest height they prefer or can
position the armrest flush with the edge of the seat to extend the
width of its bottom cushion. The ends of the two parallel links
which are remote from the seat frame are connected by a pivoted
connecting link which has a circular, peripherally toothed ratchet
type gear portion in surrounding relation to its pivotal connection
point to the uppermost one of the pair of links. A pair of pawls,
controlled by a pair of resiliently biased finger activated buttons
engage the toothed ratchet to control armrest rotation or linkage
movement. The armrest member can pivot about said pivotal
connection point to any one of a number of selected angular
positions provided by the toothed ratchet, and, once positioned,
will remain at the selected angle, or parallel thereto, even though
the pair of links are rotated. However, a stop member is provided
on the arm to prevent the forward end of the armrest from being
moved below the level of the cushion and to cause the armrest to
move into a horizontal position, aligned with the cushion, if the
links are moved to their lowest position while the armrest is
tilted downwardly. To prevent the forward end of the armrest from
being higher than the rearward end when the armrest is in its
lowest position, a cam arrangement is provided to prevent actuation
of the linkage lowering mechanism until the armrest has been tilted
downwardly to at least a horizontal position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a partially broken away outer side view showing the
internal structure of a left side armrest;
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view showing the structure of FIG. 1 in the
position it assumes when the tilting adjustment button is
actuated;
FIG. 3 is a top view taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is an end view taken on line 4--4 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but one which illustrates the
inner side of the left arm;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view showing the structure of FIG. 5 in the
position it assumes when the height adjustment button is
actuated;
FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 but illustrates the cam means
which prevents further downward movement of the parallelogram
height adjustment linkage;
FIG. 8 is a side view illustrating various parallel positions which
may be assumed by the armrest by pivoting the parallelogram
linkage;
FIG. 9 is a side view illustrating several representative positions
to which the armrest may be tilted while in a given position of the
parallelogram linkage;
FIG. 10 is a side view illustrating the manner in which the armrest
is automatically tilted to a horizontal position when an attempt is
made to lower the parallelogram linkage with the arm in a
downwardly tilted position; and
FIGS. 11-14 are perspective views showing the relationship between
the improved armrest and a seat in four of the many possible
positions.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In FIG. 1 the improved armrest assembly indicated generally at 10
is shown as being covered with a cushioned cover portion 12
overlying a generally channel shaped sheet metal frame portion 14.
A pivot shaft 18 is mounted through the walls of the channel
section 14 and retained by retaining rings 19. The pivot shaft 18
cooperates with a support bracket 20, which may be welded to the
upper inside surface of the channel 14 or struck out of the
material of the frame, to mount and lock the frame member 14
relative to the adjustment mechanism indicated generally at 22. The
shaft 18 is mounted at the outer end of an upper link member 24
whose lower end is pivotally mounted by a mounting bolt 26 to a
seat frame portion 28. A lower link member 30 is similarly mounted
to the seat frame 28 by a mounting bolt 32. The links 24, 30 are
parallel and their outer ends are pivotally connected to a
connecting link member 36 which is attached to link 30 by pivot pin
38 and to link 24 by the aforementioned pivot shaft 18. The links
24, 30 and 28, 36 define a parallelogram. The upper end of the
connecting link 36 is quite large and includes a toothed ratchet
gear portion 40 having ratchet teeth 40' on its forward edge and
ratchet teeth 40" on its rearward edge. An upper pawl 44 is used to
lock the rotational adjustment position of the armrest relative to
the pivot shaft 18. The pawl 44 is fixedly mounted on a pivot shaft
46 supported by the support bracket 20. Also fixedly mounted on the
pivot shaft 46 for simultaneous movement with the pawl 44 is a
lever 48 to which the upper end of a tension spring 50 is attached.
The lower end of spring 50 is attached to a bracket 52. The purpose
of the spring 50 is to resiliently bias the pawl 44 into engagement
with the ratchet teeth 40' to prevent downward movement of the
armrest while permitting the pawl to ratchet over the teeth when
the forward end of the armrest is lifted. To tilt the armrest
downwardly it is necessary to depress a button 54 which is mounted
at the forward end of a tilt lever 56. When the button 54 is
depressed, as shown in FIG. 2, a portion of the tilt lever 56 which
is always in engagement with a cam portion 58 on the lever 48 will
be raised so as to lift the lever 48 and simultaneously pivot the
pawl 44 out of engagement with the ratchet teeth 40'. In this mode
the arm can be raised or lowered freely with the upper limit being
the position in which a stop pad 60 carried by frame 14 engages the
rear surface of arm 24.
FIGS. 5-7 show the opposite side of the armrest shown in FIGS. 1
and 2 and illustrate the mechanism for raising and lowering the arm
as compared to the tilting feature illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. An
elongated height adjustment lever 64 is pivoted to the frame 14 by
a pivot pin 66. The forward end of the lever 64 includes a height
adjustment button 68 which is adapted to be squeezed upwardly as
shown in FIG. 6. Since the lever 64 is pivoted, upward movement of
the button 68 will cause a downward movement of a curved cam
portion 70 of the lever. A cam follower surface 72' on a cam
bracket 72 is resiliently urged toward the lever cam portion 70.
The cam bracket 72 is keyed to a pivot shaft 74 mounted on upper
link 24 to which a height adjustment pawl 76 is also keyed. A
spring 78 is tensioned between anchor pin 80 on link 24 and the end
of the bracket 72 which is on the opposite side of the pivot shaft
74 from the cam surface 72'. The spring causes the pawl 76 to be
normally in engagement with the ratchet teeth 40" which are angled
to resist downward movement of the arm. However, when button 68 is
squeezed upwardly to its FIG. 6 position, the downward pivoting
movement of cam surface 70 will push the cam surface 72'
downwardly, causing the pawl 76 which is attached to it to
disengage from teeth 40". While the pawl 76 is disengaged, the
entire arm is free to be moved downwardly since there are no
restraints on any portion of the parallelogram linkage consisting
of links 24, 30, 36 and frame portion 28. When the arm reaches its
FIG. 7 position, which is the position where the top portion 12 of
the armrest is flush with the seat cushion 82 (FIG. 12), the cam
follower surface 72' falls off the cam surface 70. This causes the
pawl 76 to engage the teeth 40" and lock the linkage against
further downward movement despite the actuation of button 68.
However, since the pawl 76 is held against the ratchet teeth 40" by
the spring 78, the linkage and arm can be lifted to their FIG. 5
position without squeezing the button 68 since the pawl 76 will
merely ratchet over the angled teeth 40".
The cam surface 70 also prevents the armrest assembly from being
lowered when the front end of the arm is tilted upwardly to any
extent. The lever 64 (FIGS. 5-7) includes a notched portion 64'
which defines the end of cam surface 70. When the armrest is
horizontal, as shown, the notched portion 64' provides clearance
around a stop pin 84 fixed to the connecting link 36 and permits
the lever 64 to be pivoted outwardly sufficiently to release the
pawl 76 as shown in FIG. 6. However, one can imagine from viewing
FIG. 5, that if the arm was tilted up, the cam surface 70 which
moves with it would contact pin 84 as soon as lever 64 was even
slightly pivoted by depressing button 68 and release of pawl 76
would be impossible. This feature prevents the arm from being
positioned in what would be an uncomfortable position with its rear
end flush with the seat cushion while its front end is raised.
It would appear from FIG. 7 that if the front end of the arm is
tilted downwardly as the arm is lowered that the cam surface 70
will not release the pawl 76 until links 24, 30 are lower than
their FIG. 7 position. However, such a situation is prevented by a
pin 86 (FIGS. 1 and 3) which is mounted in frame 14 so that it will
be engaged by link extension portion 88. Thus, a downwardly tilted
arm will have its forward end automatically lifted to a horizontal
position as link 30 is lowered to its FIG. 7 position since the
portion 88 will be swept into contact with pin 86. The action which
takes place is clearly illustrated in FIG. 10 where it can be seen
that the extension portion 88 on link 30 will first engage pin 86
when the assembly 10 is in its solid line position and the
engagement will continue as link 30 is lowered to its dotted
horizontal position 30'. In the latter position, it can be seen
that the pin 86' has been moved considerably by extension 88' to
ratchet and lift the arm about axis 18 as the axis is moved to its
lowest position 18'.
FIG. 8 illustrates the range of parallel positions which the
assembly 10 can assume by squeezing the button 68 upwardly to
release the locking of the parallelogram linkage which includes
links 24 and 30. The lowest dotted line position is the one
illustrated in FIG. 12 where the armrest serves as an extension of
the seat cushion 82. The upper solid line position corresponds to
the FIG. 11 armrest position and the center dotted line position
corresponds to one of several intermediate armrest positions which
seat occupants of varying heights might find comfortable.
FIG. 9 illustrates the range of tilt positions which the assembly
10 can assume by squeezing the button 54 upwardly without moving
the links 24, 30. In the upper dotted position, the arm assembly 10
is in the generally vertical storage position of FIG. 14 where full
access to the seat 82 is greatly facilitated. The solid line
position corresponds to the FIG. 11 armrest position and the lower
dotted line position corresponds to the FIG. 13 position where the
arms are tilted down in their hip support position where they form
comfortable armrests for an occupant who is operating lever type
controls (not shown) at the sides of the seat.
As will be readily evident from the preceding description, our
improved armrest can be raised or tilted upwardly by merely lifting
it while it can be quickly lowered or tilted downward, by merely
squeezing one or the other of two buttons. By providing a ratchet
gear 40 with teeth position at about 15.degree. intervals the
armrest assembly 10 can provide a very large number of adjustment
positions. For example, with eleven ratchet teeth 40' at a
15.degree. pitch, the arm can be tilted to 11 angles of tilt from
about 45.degree. below horizontal to about 105.degree. above
horizontal. Similarly, six ratchet teeth 40" provide six parallel
adjustment positions, three of which are illustrated in FIG. 8.
* * * * *